All eyes will be on the sky on Wednesday, May 26, because a total lunar eclipse will occur as the full “supermoon” starts to set in the early morning.
Although the lunar eclipse will look impressive in some parts of the United States, because the moon will turn a reddish-brown “blood” color, sky watchers in other parts of the nation — including New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — will miss out on the big event.
For us folks in the eastern U.S., “it’s just gonna look like a full moon,” said Amie Gallagher, director of the planetarium at Raritan Valley Community College in Somerset County.
It all comes down to the timing, Gallagher said, noting that the lunar eclipse — when the full moon moves across the Earth’s shadow — will start to happen in our region just after the moon sets in the west-southwestern sky.
People in other time zones in the United States, where it’s still dark outside and the moon is still visible in the sky, will get to see a good show, according to Gallagher and other astronomy experts.
“Unfortunately, those who live in the eastern third of the United States will see little or nothing of this event, because when the visual show begins to get underway, the moon will either be approaching its setting or will have already set,” says Space.com.
“Those who live in the central and especially the far-western states have the advantage of seeing at least the first half of the eclipse, if not most of it, before moonset,” the astronomy website noted. “Along a slice of the U.S. Pacific Coast, as well as the southern and western parts of Alaska and all of Hawaii, the umbral phase of the eclipse will be visible from start to finish.”
A total lunar eclipse on May 26, 2021 will make the full "supermoon" appear to be a rusty-reddish color in some parts of the United States. Pictured here is a lunar eclipse seen from Marseille in southern France in January 2019. AP
The good news: Even for people who don’t get to see the lunar eclipse, they will get to see a supermoon — a moon that will be slightly bigger and brighter than a typical full moon, because its orbit will be closer to the Earth during its fullest phase.
So, the May “flower moon” — which some people are calling a “super flower blood moon” — will look 99% full on Tuesday night, May 25. It will be completely full Wednesday night, May 26, and 98% full Thursday night, May 27. (Thanks to MoonGiant.com for those percentages.)
Some experts say the May supermoon will be the largest one of the year.
More big sky events
Another big moon, the third and final supermoon of 2021, is coming on June 24.
Also, a partial solar eclipse should be visible from New Jersey on June 10.
While it won’t be as dramatic as the “Great American Solar Eclipse” that dazzled the nation in August 2017, people in the Garden State should still be able to see the moon block a sizable portion of the sun early in the morning, Gallagher said.
It won’t be a total solar eclipse, because the moon won’t be big enough in the sky to fully block the sun’s rays and turn daylight to darkness, Gallagher noted. Instead, it will be an annular solar eclipse, with the moon a little farther away from the Earth.
As a result, the moon will appear slightly smaller in the sky and block most, but not all, of the sun’s face — leaving a bright outer ring of the sun visible in the sky.
In the New York region, the June 10 solar eclipse will start at 4:38 a.m. when the moon starts moving in front of the sun (which won’t be rising until 5:24 a.m.), says TimeAndDate.com. “The eclipse will be over at 6:30 a.m.”
An important safety tip from AccuWeather: “Proper eyewear is a necessity for this event (on June 10). Looking at the sun without a specially-made solar filter can lead to permanent eye damage.”
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
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